Photos: George Floyd Civil Rights Trial Starts For 3 Officers

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Eyewitness accounts of George Floyd's arrest began Tuesday in the federal civil rights trial of three former police officers, who are accused of failing to intervene when fellow officer Derek Chauvin ended up killing Floyd by kneeling on his neck.

Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao have been charged with depriving Floyd of his civil rights. Floyd died in May 2020 after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

According to an Associated Press report, Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders from intervening, and prosecutors say surveillance video will show the officers violated Floyd's rights at the time of his arrest.

On Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys gave their opening statements in the case.

A defense attorney said the three officers were not properly trained to intervene when an officer goes too far, according to an Associated Press report. The defense attorney told the court and jurors that Chauvin, the ranking officer at the scene, "called all of the shots," AP said.

Kueng, Lane, and Thao have been accused of failing to provide Floyd with medical care. Thao and Kueng face an additional count regarding the failure to stop Chauvin. Both counts claim the officers’ actions resulted in Floyd’s death, according to the AP.

Attorneys for both Kueng and Thao noted that prosecutors must prove the officers willfully violated Floyd’s constitutional rights, an AP report stated.

Prosecutor Samantha Trepel said the video showed Thao standing directly next to Chauvin but, instead of intervening, taunted Floyd for using drugs and telling bystanders, “This is why you don’t” use drugs, and ignoring their pleas to check Floyd's pulse, according to the AP.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.